"My Tech" or "My Aide"

ExpBrittany · Jun 2, 2015

Welp I guess I'm the only one that feels like that. That's fine for you guys but call me by my name. And I don't say my nurse. I say her/his name.

No you are not. I think it sounds stupid to be honest. "Where's my aide?", "Where's my nurse?". Really? The nurses I work with and other techs on the floor refer to each other by name. Makes me wonder what these nurses and cna/aides/techs refer to his or her patient as. Let me guess? Honey, sweetie or grandma?

It doesn't bother me because we don't talk that way on my unit. I just refer to my co-workers by name and not his or her title. If a nurse addressed me as such, I would not respond.

TiffyRN, BSN, PhD · Jun 2, 2015

What an interesting topic. The OP does not seem unreasonable but I just didn't get it.

So I tried a mental exercise where I heard lots of people at work calling me "my nurse".

From a patient, "my nurse" sounded completely appropriate and felt right. Would I like them to learn my name? Maybe if I had cared for them multiple days, otherwise, no biggy.

From a CNA (which I no longer work with in my current position), sounds right if the CNA and I were assigned to work together. Otherwise it would sound weird, but not offensive.

From a manager, probably in the context of saying "my nurses". Appropriate and accurate.

From a random doctor. . . . Kind of sounded weird, not right. As in, they are assuming possession of me that does not exist. I might be in a team with them, but I am not the doctor's assistant.

So that gave me an insight, along with something a previous poster said. . . .

Maybe the OP doesn't feel part of the team and resents being grouped into that relationship. Questions for the OP might be is this because your coworkers don't make you feel part of the team? Or is it because you (the OP) aren't buying into being part of the team.

The difference between the relationship I might or might not have with a physician and the relationship between a floor nurse and CNA is that by definition, the CNA assists the nurse.

I like to think about these things out. Recently I was "talked to" by a supervisor over a nursing decision I made. I was tremendously, and probably unreasonably angry about the reprimand but thought it out carefully. I figured out that the real source of the problem was that the supervisor questioned my judgement and I was personally offended. I calmed down, explained my rationale and they understood. I was able to move on without anger. Ok, I had a little remaining annoyance. . .

weirdscience · Jun 2, 2015

I have said it, but I also tell patients that "my charge nurse tonight is xx."

I can kinda see why you don't like it, assuming it's being used in the context of establishing power/pecking order in the workplace, but when I step into a room, I generally say, " Hi, I'm weirdscience, I'll be your nurse until 7 am. My clinical assistant tonight is Suzanne, and my charge nurse is Alex."

It's not meant to be derogatory, but more to establish the idea of the nursing staff as a team, and care as a team effort.

WCSU1987 · Jun 2, 2015

Ha it doesn't bother me. We're assigned to a patient, but also assigned to a nurse...so this is my tech, but the nurse's are good they go up to a patient go insert name is here going to help you out take your vitals, yada yada.

Dogen · Jun 2, 2015

I've never considered being referred to by someone as "my nurse" derogatory... but personally I was trained in "people first" language (in a somewhat painful process of constant correction), and so I typically use people's names. When addressing patients at the beginning of a shift I'll say, "Your therapist is Martin," and then refer to them as Martin from then on. The idea being that most people like being referred to as individuals rather than as a member of a class ("diabetic patients," "the schizophrenic guy in 15," etc). Of course, most classes are diseases/disorders/limitations, rather than job titles, so this is a little different. :)

berttravels · Jun 2, 2015

I don't like it either, but many of the techs on my unit are also extremely offended when this happens. This became an issue on my unit because the nurses would go around shouting "where's my tech!" Anyway the DON ended up overhearing the worst offender combing the unit for "her" tech, and the DON told her she should be asking another nurse for help (buddy system) before walking all over the unit like that.

funtimes · Jun 2, 2015

I don't think this has ever bothered me, but it does sound kind of unprofessional. You are the patient's tech, not the Nurses. Where I work we are assigned to rooms and patients, not Nurses. The Nurse could be anybody at the start of the shift, and the Nurse could change at some point for some reason, or your assignment could change meaning you are no longer "their" tech. Ultimately though its just semantics and I doubt most RNs who say that really mean anything by it.

Look on the bright side though, there are physicians who look at nurses as "their nurses", especially if they work in a doctors office, or if they work with surgeons. Many of them look down on nurses as someone who would never be smart enough to get into medical school, so RNs get a taste of the same thing you do.

Some of it depends on the unit you work on too. When I worked in an ER occasionally you'd get some floor Nurse taking a position in the ER, but if they tried treating the techs in the ER like they did on the floors they usually didn't last long, especially since some of the techs were Licensed Paramedics who had no patience for floor RNs with an attitude who couldn't work as a team.

Dogen · Jun 2, 2015

Look on the bright side though, there are physicians who look at nurses as "their nurses", especially if they work in a doctors office, or if they work with surgeons. Many of them look down on nurses as someone who would never be smart enough to get into medical school, so RNs get a taste of the same thing you do.

This isn't a bright side. This is a pain in my butt, and I've lamented more than once that when residents come in July as an R1 they recognize they depend on us to catch their mistakes, and by June two years later as an R2 they've "learned" that they don't make any. :sarcastic:

Of course, woe unto any physician who talks down to the floor staff on my unit. We breathe fire. :)

ConfusedAmanda1 · Jun 2, 2015

I'm a tech and I actually prefer,that they call me their tech. It's more respect than "the tech"

It means they see you as their teammate. I say "my nurse" all the time. Don't be offended.

funtimes · Jun 2, 2015

I'd love to see the fireworks fly if an RN referred to an lpn as "my lpn", or told another rn, can I borrow your lpn?

Many lpns are a little touchy as it is about their second tier status so this would be fun to watch, in a twisted kind of way.

Lev, MSN, RN, NP · Jun 2, 2015

I've heard doctors tell patients "I'm going to have one of my PAs discharge you" or do xyz. I don't think the PAs find that offensive. They are physician assistants and therefore assist the doctor similar to the way nursing assistants/techs/whatever assist the nurse.

rn321 · Jun 2, 2015

that was a great way to explain it